THE GHOST OF HUNSTANTON HALL

ARMINE LE STRANGE wife of NICHOLAS STYLEMAN OF SNETTISHAM HALL

Her name was Armine le Strange (1691–1768), an elderly heiress of Hunstanton Hall — the only female heiress since Matilda le Strange, who had died by 1138. In her seventy-first year she was the wife of Nicholas Styleman of Snettisham, and mistress of a lineage long rooted in Norfolk soil.

Her beauty stood out as one would expect, brown hair, porcelein skin, large wide eyes, and an elegant chin and a swan neck, she would grace the corridors of her ancestral home, while at any given chance of freedom, ran outside to climb, like a tom-boy high into the nearest ancient tree. One day she would be the Heiress of the Estate, at the top of the Family tree.

Though Hunstanton Hall was the ancestral seat, Snettisham Hall was the family’s favoured residence, especially in winter. Its generous windows welcomed light and warmth, unlike the colder, darker rooms of Hunstanton. There, Armine and Nicholas raised their ten children. Among them was Nich — known as “the Jolly Gentleman” — whose charm concealed a dangerous weakness for gambling.

That weakness would cost dearly. Nich began selling many of the Hall’s treasured possessions to satisfy his habit, even parting with the family china. By then his father had already died, said to have succumbed to heartbreak as the sea devoured the cliffs of Snettisham, the shoreline steadily collapsing under nature’s assault.

In her last years at Hunstanton Hall, Armine shared her large residence with her brother-in-law, Robert Styleman. She would gently urge him to see to his laundry; when persuasion failed, she would quietly tiptoe into his chambers during his absence and remove the neglected garments herself for washing.

Armine lived in the age of the Shahs of Persia, when Persian carpets — hand-woven, silk-based, brilliantly coloured, and newly exported — became fashionable luxuries for those who could afford them. Among these treasures was one extraordinary carpet gifted to her by the Shah himself. Its colours were cheerful and rich, and she loved it deeply.

On her deathbed in 1768, she summoned Nich. His gambling of the family heirlooms - and the carpet weighed heavy in her thoughts. She made him swear he would never sell her precious gift from the Shah himself, asserting that if he did, she would return to haunt him. The promise hung between them like the fragile threads of the persian carpet itself. Confronted with his failings as a son, Nich gave his word — and kept it! He succeeded his mother and lived for another twenty years, until 1788, never selling the carpet he had promised to keep.

In time, her next eldest son, Armine — also named Armine — who was Vicar of Ringsted succeeded the Jolly Gentleman. He chose to remain at his vicarage rather than reside at Hunstanton Hall, yet he diligently maintained the estate. Regularly he rode across the downs, cloak and breeches whipped by wind and rain. Upon arriving soaked at the Hall, he would hang his garments over a wooden chair before the fire to dry.

His son, Henry Styleman — at a time when the le Strange surname had not yet been reinstated — succeeded to the estate in 1803. Henry was in turn succeeded by his own son, Henry Styleman le Strange, when he came of age in 1836. This restoration owed much to the foresight of his mother. After her husband Henry Styleman’s death, she remarried, yet managed through shrewd decisions to restore the Hall to her son, keeping it rightfully within the family bloodline. By then, the residence had stood empty for decades, its belongings covered or carefully put away while spiders gracefully weaved this webs.

The fate of the Persian carpet entered its most curious chapter under Henry’s daughter-in-law, Emmeline Austin, an American from Boston. Discovering the carpet had been carefully put aside and rolled in the attic, she determined that it could be put to practical use. She cut it into pieces suitable for smaller rugs and humbly distributed them for use in the townspeople’s homes.

But as she returned in her carriage, she saw Armine’s pale old face appear at the window of the Gatehouse.

When she told her husband, Hamon le Strange — author of the le Strange records — and learned of the deathbed curse she acted swiftly. The pieces were gathered and returned to the Hall without delay.

Thereafter, Armine appeared only occasionally, after this, as if merely watching to ensure that matters were properly set right.

Not every fragment was recovered. One piece is known to have belonged to the old tobacconist in Hunstanton in the later twentieth century, during the time of the current heir.

Sightings of the heiress have been few. In the early twentieth century, the gardener reported hearing the rustling of long dresses at half past five in the morning, the sound centred upon the grand staircase.

As for myself, I have seen something different: a cavalier striding across the lawn of the Old Dairy cottage — clad in a great black cloak, tall hat, and broad buckled belt. Other members of the family confirmed the same vision. As children, we all saw this figure together at dusk, crossing the grass in silence.

For Hunstanton Hall has never entirely slept, and Nich ensured her two large portraits remained in place, and personal possession of a dark blue Snuffbox exhibiting her dear and precious mini portrait inside the lid. The heirloom was handed down to one of her 4th great-grandsons, Gordon le Strange (d. 1960), who died without having any children. His wife, Eve Cresswell (d. 2000) who never married again. The snuffbox never returned to the Estate successor, being instead handed down to Eve’s sister, Wilhelmina (Lady Harrod) Cresswell. While at Eve’s house one day admiring the portraits, I happened to take a snap of this snuffbox. Although it is blurred, it is a memory, and ultimately a purchase offer from Armine’s blood descendants to Lady Harrod in-situ was declined.

But like her portrait, the lady in the Snuffbox with her long swan neck, and high cheek bones and heart shaped face, broad almond eyes and kind broad smile, she is a vision of wonder draped in silk voile with the timeless expression, that of a Mother and heiress of the past.